RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 25: Alex Apodaca punches Bella Mir in a bantamweight fight during Dana White's Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 at Meta APEX on August 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)
Bella Mir’s upset loss sent shockwaves through the MMA world.
On Tuesday night, Mir ended up on the wrong end of one of the biggest upset losses in MMA history, dropping a unanimous decision to Alex Apodaca in the main event of Week 3 of Contender Series .
Daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and an NCAA national champion in wrestling, Bella Mir was the biggest betting favorite in Contender Series history, coming in at -6000 in some places, but was unable to have much success with her wrestling and grappling and was outworked over 15 minutes by Apodaca.
At just 23 years old, this is likely only a setback for Mir, but given her outspoken stance before the fight, where Mir declared her intention to become “the best athlete of all time,” Mir already had some detractors in the MMA community, who were quick to jump on the upset loss.
Check out MMA fighters’ reactions to the shocking upset below.
Holy fraud check. Let’s see those Apadova tickets 👀 #DWCS
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) August 26, 2026
Omg,☺️ For the last few days, my entire timeline has been filled with people saying Bella Mir was going to dominate our bantamweight division. https://t.co/UFe5ZKEETI
— Yana Santos (@YanaKunitskaya1) August 26, 2026
There’s never a guarantee in MMA or life for that matter. Anything is possible. https://t.co/NswfVir3ct
— michael (@bisping) August 26, 2026
Ain’t no way -6000 Bella Mir just lost . My my my ! #DWCS
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) August 26, 2026
Bella Mir is a little bit small for 135 #DWCS
— Diana Belbiță (@DianaBelbita) August 26, 2026
I’m happy the judges got it right. I was a little nervous they might be blinded by the name and the odds. #DWCS
— Diana Belbiță (@DianaBelbita) August 26, 2026
I’m not hating on Bella , being delusional is necessary for doing anything great in life, but maybe frank can tell her to chill on talking about winning an Olympic gold medal and ufc title before she takes some real fights. https://t.co/8xytZJ9Nc3
— Zac Pauga (@ZacPauga) August 26, 2026
Great fight by Apodaca and way to stay tough out there Bella Mir. We learn the most from our losses. pic.twitter.com/jwTm1sBMTD
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) August 26, 2026
Dana White reacts to Bella Mir suffering the biggest upset loss in Contender Series history 'She didn't have deep water experience and now she does.' pic.twitter.com/8CVyenzYhh
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) August 26, 2026
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